The Secret Friend

66

'It seems Malcolm Fletcher mailed CDs containing a recording of Tim Bryson's conversation with Tina Sanders to every reporter in the city,' Chadzynski said. 'I'm sure they'll be playing it over the news tonight.'

'Have you heard a copy?' Darby asked.

'Not yet. I'm afraid I have more bad news. A reporter for the Herald knows Sanders' remains were found inside Sinclair. The reporter is amenable to stalling the story in exchange for an exclusive interview with you after you've solved the case.'

Darby leaned back against the wall. Stuffed animals from Hannah's childhood were arranged around the pillows and cheap comforter.

'I'm not suggesting you do it,' Chadzynski said. 'It's only a matter of time before other reporters find out. I'll try and stall him as long as I can.'

'I spoke with Bill Jordan. He's brought in some men with SWAT experience. When our man shows up at the chapel, Jordan and his men will take him down.'

'Do you really think this person is going to show up?'

'I do. At some point, he will return. The statue of the Virgin Mary I found was clean – remember the bucket of water and towels I found? That statue and the chapel hold a special connection for this person. He could go to any church but he specifically goes to this chapel that's buried under the ground. It's not easy to find. He must have found a special route.'

'Darby, I've been on the phone with the federal task force assigned to track down Malcolm Fletcher. The task force coordinator is a man named Mike Abrams. He met Fletcher while he was working the Sandman case. Abrams was a site profiler for the Boston office. He suspects Fletcher is long gone, but Abrams still wants to speak to us. They're scheduled to arrive at Boston sometime tomorrow afternoon. His people want to look at the DVD Fletcher sent to Hale as well as the audio tape you found.'

'Maybe you should have him talk to Jonathan Hale while he's here.'

'I'm sure they'll want to talk to him. Have you read Bryson's toxicology report?'

'I didn't know it was available.'

'I received a copy this morning. Tim was injected with GHB and Ketamine. If he was alive, his drug-induced confession would be thrown out. It wouldn't have a leg to stand on during trial.'

Maybe that's why Fletcher threw him off the roof, Darby thought.

'Have you made any progress with Sam Dingle?' Chadzynski asked.

'The address Fletcher left on the sign-in sheet at the club and the registration for his Jaguar, which still hasn't been found – all of it points back to the house where Sam Dingle grew up. It's like Fletcher's shoving it in our faces.'

'I agree. Where do you think he is?'

'Who knows? If you're serious about finding him, you need to put people on Hale.'

'Malcolm Fletcher is a loner. He doesn't work for anyone.'

'The locks for Emma Hale's doors weren't picked. He didn't force his way in there.'

'Darby -'

'At least put Hale under surveillance.'

'I'm not going to do that.'

'Why? Because he's rich?'

'Because there is no evidence to suggest that Fletcher is working for or is in collusion with Jonathan Hale,' Chadzynski said. 'For God's sake, we have a security tape showing the man sneaking inside the parking garage.'

'Fletcher didn't break into Emma Hale's home; he had a key.'

'Have you considered the possibility that maybe Fletcher's working for Tina Sanders? Fletcher's spoken to her several times. Maybe I should put her under surveillance.'

'I would.'

'You can make your recommendations to the federal task force,' Chadzynski said. 'Have you found any indication that Bryson tampered with evidence on either the Hale or Chen case?'

'Both Neil and I reviewed the chain of custody on all the evidence. It doesn't appear Bryson tampered with any of our cases. I can't say what happened in Saugus.

'I got the state lab's report on the two Saugus women. Both were raped and strangled. There were no traces of semen, no blood under the fingernails, but they found a lubricant that's used with some condoms. Coop's reviewing the evidence files right now.

'NCIC doesn't contain any listing for Samuel Dingle,' Darby said. 'There is no DNA profile in CODIS under that name. Same goes for AFIS. Dingle could possibly be using an alias.'

'I heard something about a fingerprint being recovered from the duct tape used to bind Sanders' wrists.'

'It's a palm print. Have you spoken to Dr Karim?'

'I did this morning. He was very cooperative. He didn't have anything new to add.'

'Maybe we should dig a little deeper.'

'What's going on with Hannah Givens? What new developments do you have?'

'I don't have anything at the moment. Neil told me Bryson did, in fact, pay for an experimental stem-cell treatment for his daughter.'

'I want your focus on Givens.'

'I'm at her place right now.'

'Good. I need to get going. We're holding another press conference. We can talk more after Bryson's wake.'

'I'm going to stick around here for a while.'

'Keep at it,' Chadzynski said. 'I believe you have a real talent for this.'

Darby hung up. From behind the closed bedroom door she heard the TV playing down the hallway, the murmured voices of Hannah's parents. They were parked in the living room hoping for a phone call from their daughter's kidnapper.

For the next hour Darby walked around the bedroom examining Hannah's things, feeling certain she had overlooked something valuable. That feeling, she knew, was her frustration speaking. There was nothing here.

Darby put on her coat. She opened the door and walked down the hallway to the living room where Hannah's parents were waiting.